Proud of You
by quantumparadigm
Summary: Mass Effect 3 spoilers! Read at your own risk! Re-write of the end game sequence with the Crucible. Because the ending we got wasn't enough. Shenko.


**Mass Effect 3 ending spoilers ahead! (Kind of, but we'll get to that.) If you haven't beaten the game yet, read at your own risk, because I'm going to delineate every reason why I'm rewriting the ending of ME3 in the next paragraph.**

The ending felt cheap, and was not at all what Mass Effect is about. This style of decision was completely left field. I might have been more okay with it had there been more indications about the Catalyst throughout the series. Instead, we have one mention of something greater than the Reapers in the third game, and that's it. We've spent nearly 5 years developing relationships with these characters, falling in love with them, writing about them, fitting them into our lives. They were every bit as real to us as our friends and family. We had a right to know what comes after - and we were denied that right. I felt a hollow emptiness after beating the game, because I didn't get closure. Just this devastating sense of grief. I spent 10 minutes staring at the screen, trying to figure out what in the hell had just happened and why I didn't feel like it was done.

We didn't get to see what happened once it was over. It's not even about Shepard surviving at this point, because Shepard sacrificing him/herself would be just as fulfilling. We didn't get to see how our choices over the past 5 years would come to play after the war. The singularity concept could have been really cool if it had been introduced into the game sooner than 10 minutes before the series came to an end. But what I really wanted out of it was more ending cutscenes showing the galaxy piecing itself back together, based upon the readiness rating I had when I finished the war with the Reapers. The game gave me no closure, so I've written my own ending to try and make peace with myself.

Assumptions: High EMS (5000) with mostly paragon reputation (renegade shot Udina and stabbed Kai Leng like a boss.)

Song for the chapter: "I was lost without you"  
>www . youtube . com  watch ?v= OQeFvUuPNHc (delete spaces)

**Proud ****of ****You**

Shepard clutched the locket. Her locket. In the war against the Reapers, no one had decided to come down on this one reg violation to wear a necklace under her armor. Not when it represented the very reasons they were fighting. Families, loved ones, friendships. In the face of extinction, something as small as a locket had seemed trivial. Denying people the right to love during something so huge would have gone against everything the war stood for. Her locket represented so many things. Hope, love, loss. She clenched it in her fist, imagining the feel of his breath against her skin, the cool timbre of his voice.

"This is... is it," Anderson coughed. "Feels good to finally sit down."

Shepard agreed. After everything, it was finally over. The galaxy had come together to face the Reapers. Uniting everyone had been difficult - the biggest understatement of the century. Old grudges and stalemates had nearly cost them everything. People were scared in the face of extinction, couldn't think straight. But in the end, the universal destruction had made them realize that no one could stand alone. In order to survive, they had to stand together. Krogan and salarian had stood side by side on the front lines, quarian and geth, turian and human. Everyone fought tooth and nail in the final battle, and now she could finally sit back and watch as the Reapers were destroyed, once and for all.

_Looks __like __we __found __that __bigger __boot__, __Kaidan__._

"Yeah, it does," she shifted her gaze to the locket held tight in her bloody fist. He'd never admitted to having it delivered to her, but she knew it had come from him. No one else would have taken the time to find a picture of her parents and Jill, sitting on top of a tractor at their farm on Mindoir. A spasm rocked through her, and she clenched her teeth. Her skin burned, bits of armor melted into it. She lightly touched the faces of her family, tears burning in her eyes.

No one else would have dug up the one picture taken of her and Kaidan following the aftermath of the Battle of the Citadel. Emily Wong had found them standing among the ruins, holding hands as they stood amongst the rubble in Teyseri ward. The young reporter had surprised Shepard by giving the holo to them instead of publishing it to the news network. _"__Some __things __are __worth __remembering__, __Commander__." _Shepard had considered it lost when the first _Normandy_ was destroyed. She slid her eyes over to his face, remembering their last moments together.

_I __lied__. __I __didn__'__t __come __up __here __for __a __quick __drink__. _Shepard smiled as the tears slid down her face.

"Hell of a view," Anderson wheezed. Shepard lifted her face up to watch. The fleet was ripping the Reapers to shreds now that the Crucible had done its job. She still wasn't sure exactly what it had done. But the fact that the Reapers were being rendered immobile was enough for her. She was the soldier who accomplished the what and how. Let the scientists figure out the why. She simply acted.

Human solace forced her to seek out Anderson's hand as they watched the Reapers burn. "We did it."

"You did it, child." Anderson gripped her hand with a rough strength. The kind of strength that declared their livelihood, their victory. Their humanity. "You got us here. Don't you ever... doubt that. Fighting alongside you was an honor. I'm proud of you, Shepard."

Anderson's grip on her hand slackened, and Shepard redoubled hers. She pried her eyes away from the battle to look at the Admiral's face. That man that had stood by her all these years, throwing her his support. The man who'd given his life to ensure this cycle was the last cycle the Reapers terrorized. He appeared to be at peace, face titled back against the wall. She grasped for her tags and ripped them free from the chain. Grunting with pain, she secured them to Anderson's torn collar, more of her blood spilling free from her as she granted him this one last honor.

"For your service, Admiral." Shepard ignored a wave of dizziness and saluted Anderson. "If there's a heaven, I'll see you there."

She returned her gaze to the war being fought outside, Anderson's hand still in hers. The _Normandy_ was out there somewhere, making its way to her. With her omni-tool fried, she had no way of supplying a honing beacon. She closed her eyes. She still couldn't believe it. The war was over. The Reapers were defeated. The cycle could finally end. Perhaps it would start anew millions of years in the future, when another race created AI. She didn't think the geth would do it. Based on what she'd seen on Rannoch, the geth were more inclined towards cooperation than extermination. EDI was proof that AI didn't always rebel against their creators. Perhaps the Reapers had simply lacked compassion from theirs.

Shepard sighed, eyes still closed. She dreamed of a life after this one. Anderson waiting for her on the other side. Her parents. Jill. Ashley and Thane. Mordin and Legion. All of them waiting for her at the docking bay of the afterlife as her shuttle came sailing home. And she could tell them that she did it. She saved the galaxy. Their sacrifices weren't meaningless. Neither would hers be. And she'd wait. For Kaidan. For all the long years it took him to come there, she'd wait for him. She'd hold onto the hope that she would see him again one day. When he arrived, she'd answer him …

"_... __Shepard__, __answer __me__. __ETA__ 2 __minutes__. __Do __you __copy__?"_ She knew that voice. He wasn't here already, was he?

"_Goddamnit__, __Shepard__! __Do __you __copy__?"_

That wasn't right. Kaidan wouldn't talk to her like that in the afterlife, not with that sense of urgency. His voice only got that husky and harsh when he was truly worried. She painfully opened her eyes. The blinding light of the _Normandy__'__s_ searchlight flashed across her face and she flinched.

"_Joker__, __I__'__ve __got __a __visual__! __Bring __her __in__. __Hold __on__, __Shepard__. __I__'__m __coming __for __you__."_

She raised her battered arm to shield her eyes against the light, maintaining her weakened grip on Anderson's hand with the other. The _Normandy_ swooped down towards the platform, and crewmen jumped out carrying shield generators and blast guns. She saw Kaidan jump down from the airlock, holding a maintenance laser.

He'd come for her.

She closed her eyes and lowered her arm, waiting. Let someone else do the rescuing for a change. This war had earned her early retirement in her books. Perhaps a tech's position. Kaidan was always better with communications than she was, but she knew her way around a network like no one's business. Or perhaps she could teach. So many options. There'd be plenty of ground postings available for her to pick and choose. Leadership positions to fulfill, but she didn't want anything to do with that. She'd lead the races of the galaxy in this war. It was all the leadership she'd need to last a lifetime.

Or two, in her case. She spared a feeble grin for Miranda Lawson, wondering if the operative had made it. So many hadn't. So many had died in this war against the reapers, giving their lives so that others might live to see another day. So many were still dying. Any monument erected for the fallen would have to be massive to record all their names. Their stories.

"Shepard?" his voice was hesitant this time, accompanied by a light touch to her wrist. "God, Shepard, answer me, please!"

Shepard blinked her eyes open, heavy lidded. "I'm here... Kaidan." She choked back the lump forming deep in her throat. "You came."

He smiled down at her, face bathed in relief. "Always."

"I mangled myself pretty bad."

"We'll get you patched up."

"Omni blew out."

"I'll buy you a new one."

"Lost my rifle. Harbinger blasted it into pieces."

"Alliance can bankroll that one."

He helped her to her feet, sliding her arm over his shoulders and supporting her by the waist. She paused to gaze down at Anderson with Kaidan. He didn't ask why she needed to look at this man one last time, he didn't need to. No one came into this war believing that everyone would make it. _Sometimes__, __no __matter __how __hard __you __try__, __you __can__'__t __save __them __all_. "The honor was mine, Admiral."

Kaidan helped turn her away towards the hole he'd blasted into the side of the Citadel. "Let's get you home."

She gripped his hand hard in hers, leaning heavily against him for support. "I already am."

* * *

><p><strong>I'd love to hear what you guys all have to say about the Mass Effect 3 ending! I know I'm not the only disappointed fan, but I'd love to hear from everyone about why you did or didn't like the ending :) And, of course, I'd love to hear what you think of this one-shot rewrite of the end. I needed <em>something<em> to get the closure the game didn't give us. :)**

**Update!: I love hearing from all of you, reading your opinions on the game! You've all stated it perfectly. We didn't get closure. And when you're writing the end to a trilogy, closure should one of the key points you make sure you hit before you release final act. I loved 99% of the game. The last 10 minutes were a complete mind frak that still has me reeling from the after-effects. It might be silly that I let myself get so attached to this series - but that's because it was beautiful, and beautifully written. I loved the characters, I cared about Shepard's story, and I wanted to see everything through to the bitter end. That goodbye sequence with Kaidan was probably the worst thing I've endured. But I believed that my Shepard would get to see him again because I'd done everything possible to make sure we all made it. I felt cheated once the credits rolled.**

**Keep it coming! I love the opinions :)**


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